Not Without A Price
by Encantadora Rosa
Summary: Seven years later, Jason still can't forget the feelings of shame, confusion and self-hatred emanating from the boy. (One sided Percico, JasonxNicoxPiper friendship, implied Percabeth, one-shot, HoH spoilers!)


**Rating : T/PG-13. Swearing (two uses of the f-word, I think) and some mentions of sex, absolutely nothing graphic though. No gore, violence, nothing. **

**Disclaimer : I do not own the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus books, characters, nothing. They all belong to Rick Riordan. No money is being made off this.**

**The first quote is from the Fight Club and the last quote has been taken from connotativewords on Tumblr.**

**Warning : A few HoH spoilers.**

**Beta-read by Andromeda Luna. (Ohhh, what would I do without her?)**

* * *

It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything

* * *

Jason Grace is grateful – extremely grateful for the people he has in his life. But sometimes, he just doesn't know what to do with one of them.

* * *

Having Nico di Angelo as a roommate can get pretty tiring at times. The stacks of music CD's and video games all over the sofa, piles of clothes which smell like the dead and late night alcohol binges which end up with Nico in Jason's bed, refusing to budge – all of it are a part and parcel of his life now. Nico completely loses his sense of personal space after a few drinks, a stark difference from how he hates people touching him when he's sober. The erratic changes in his behavior sometimes throw Jason off, but he manages, like he always does.

While living with him, Jason realizes that Nico has very few people in his life that he trusts – being one of them is slightly intimidating. He feels like he's obligated to help Nico in every way. So he accepts it, mood swings and all. Once you've accepted the fact that your best friend has some pretty exasperating habits, it's easier to get along with them.

They go to cooking classes together, play basketball and even go to cons. It's usually Nico who forces them to conventions – Jason, intimidated by the sheer weirdness, usually hangs around near the merchandise and food stalls. He's learning to appreciate it, though.

Jason just wishes that sometimes Nico would make exceptions for him as well.

Scratch roommate, having Nico di Angelo as a friend is pretty tiring. Sometimes, Jason doesn't feel as if they're friends – more like two people who live together and can leave any time they wish, but choose not to. Jason can't forget the 14 year old Nico in front of Cupid – even though that was 7 years ago, the image is seared into his mind. He still remembers the feelings of shame, confusion and hatred emanating from the skinny teenager who now takes everything for granted, who now, almost seems…normal.

But Jason knows that's not true. Behind the sarcastic and impassive exterior, Nico loves Percy and still pines after him despite the fact that he knows Percy can never return any of his feelings.

Sometimes, Jason wonders if that's the reason why he still stays.

* * *

Jason turns to Piper for help.

Piper is much better at feelings than anyone he knows – being extremely intuitive, it's hard to hide anything from her. Not that he is hiding anything.

Jason knows that Nico is one of the few people Piper is uneasy about. While she respects and admires him for being able to get through his hardships, she also feels that getting too close to him could have a detrimental effect on a person.

"Especially for someone like you, Jason," she says, in the middle of sipping her iced tea. "You get annoyed when you can't figure out why – sometimes, a person like Nico…well, you can't really do anything. I know that isn't what you want to hear, but what he needs is a reality check. He's still stuck in the past because he believes he doesn't deserve anything better than what happened years ago."

Jason sighs. Deep inside, he knows Piper's right – Nico's still an insecure teenager, no matter how much he tries to act like things don't matter. And he also knows that Nico does care about Jason – just not in the way one would expect. After all, Nico does need him.

Piper places her hand on his.

"Don't sweat it. I'll try coming over more and we'll see if we can figure it out."

* * *

The result of Piper coming over more is more sex.

"You two…are really loud," says Nico after a few mornings, half annoyed and half amused. Jason reddens and looks away while Piper laughs loudly and plops onto the sofa.

"Well, I've got to get to work," Jason says after an awkward silence between the three. "You want a ride back to your flat, Piper?" he asks.

Piper looks at Jason. He raises his eyebrows in question.

"Uhh, well, I think I'll stay for some time, if that's okay with Nico."

Jason looks at Nico. Nico shrugs and looks away.

* * *

"FUCKING SON OF HADES!" came Piper's voice. Jason stops in his tracks as he rushes into the room, his heart pounding. Had Nico done something to Piper?

He whirls around, looking for them – and then he spots them, sitting on the sofa, shoving each other with a video game controller in hand.

And he laughs.

* * *

Piper comes over more often now, and it's not just for the sex. Jason is glad that the two people he cares about most are getting along. It's not just Jason and Nico, but Piper as well who joins them for their activities.

The phrase 'three's a crowd' passes through Jason's mind, but he shrugs it off.

* * *

Nico now arranges his CD's in the rack, puts dirty clothes in the laundry and no longer stays up drinking alcohol. Jason truly feels that things have taken a turn for the better. Nico seems to be much more cheerful and sensitive of the happenings around him. He cooks for Jason, offers help and asks him about his life. He even apologizes about how distant he was before – something which Jason didn't ask for and definitely didn't deserve.

Jason, while pleased, is a little miffed that these changes took place only after Piper came in. What had he been doing wrong?

Piper tells him that he wasn't being pushy enough. That he was allowing Nico to drift off into his comfort zone and not face confrontation.

However, Jason knows that no amount of confrontation will make Nico give up on Percy. He decides to let it go, as for some things, stubbornness can't be solved.

* * *

Nico likes Piper. He likes the way she's honest with him and at the same time makes him feel comfortable. He'd never really thought of her as anyone but 'Jason's girlfriend', until she started staying over. He can understand why Jason likes her – there's something so very likable about her. Her upbeat demeanor gives him the push – the push to realise that, well, his sullen attitude isn't equitable to the things people do for him. And he begins to notice the little things Jason does for him. He does his best to return it, to tell him he's so very thankful for someone like him in his life.

But he knows it's not the answer to all the problems.

* * *

Nico meets Percy every other day. It's usually at camp when he sees him, training other demigods or hanging out with Grover and Annabeth. It's easier to hide his feelings for Percy. It's not so easy to hide his feelings towards Annabeth. He knows that she's done nothing wrong and even without her, Percy would never reciprocate anything - however, it's still so unfair. Annabeth has only been kind to him in every sense. Yet, he can't stop hating her. He can't stop hating Percy as well. Hating him so much that he loves him.

And he still feels pathetic that after all these years, Nico di fucking Angelo still can't move on.

* * *

Nico visits their grave every weekend, Frank's and Hazel's. He never thought that it would be their blood that would be taken for the sacrifice. But it was. And it hurts harder than anything ever could. Losing a sister twice…well, sometimes, he thinks, the Fates are just too cruel.

It's not fair. It's never been fair. After all, he's Nico di Angelo.

* * *

The wedding invitations hit him the hardest. And that's when the reality punches Nico in the face. The sheer stupidity of the whole situation. How crazy it must seem to everyone.

He decides that disappearing would be better.

* * *

He owes Jason and Piper. Especially Jason. Jason stuck around when no one else would – after Hazel was gone Jason was the one who offered him a home, helping him despite everything. Most people would give up trying to help within a week. Not Jason. Nico knew it was the persistent Roman blood in him – the never give up motto. He isn't sure if the Romans would approve of the usage of his spirit, but nevertheless, Nico deeply appreciates it. He knows that he hasn't been fair to a lot of people and Jason is definitely not an exception.

So he hugs Jason and tells him he's descending into the Underworld for a little while, to let it all sink in. Then he visits Piper and kisses her on the cheek, thanking her for all that she's done.

The fact that they tell him it'll be alright and that they'll be there to welcome him when he's back stings.

"Yeah," he says averting his eyes. "I'll be back."

* * *

Nico makes his final visit at Percy's house, the night before his wedding. He cringes slightly as he sees them sleeping together, their faces peaceful and content. After some hesitation, he kisses Annabeth's forehead while she's asleep and mutters an apology.

"Take care of him, Annabeth," he whispers. He's not sure what he's doing all this for – but he feels like he owes her at least this much.

And then he wakes up Percy.

"N-Nico?" Percy asks, startled.

"Balcony," Nico says, opening the latch of the balcony door.

It's almost midnight, a full moon glowing in the night sky. He notices the moonlace plant, a gift from Calypso years ago, still growing in one of the pots. Nico smiles, knowing that it's not in Percy's nature to easily let go – at the end of everything, the Son of Poseidon deeply cares for everything that's been washed away, voluntarily or not.

He explains everything to Percy – how he loved him, how he still loves him and how maybe some lives just aren't meant to go the right way. He doesn't elaborate on his plan for the future. For some reason, Nico isn't nervous or scared. He always imagined telling Percy he loved him would result in him stuttering or screaming - but it's surprisingly easy. Maybe because he's sure of the outcome now.

Percy stands there, slightly struck.

And then before Percy can utter a word, Nico kisses him on the lips. And at that moment, Nico knows it's all he's ever wanted – that all the unfairness in the world has been made up with this.

On that night, Nico frees himself.

* * *

The Son of Hades is never seen in the mortal world again.

* * *

You want the sad truth?

Even if I forget you,

I will always miss you.

* * *

**A/N: Idk, I've been wanting to write a one-sided Percico oneshot for sometime now. And after reading HoH, I just had to add in the Jason factor. Seriously, my respect for Jason shot up ten fold in House of Hades. **

**This was meant to be a happy fic, with Jason, Piper and Nico becoming besties and living happily ever after. I honestly have no idea what happened along the way.**

**I'm sorry for the 10 million breaks in the fic but oh well.**

**Hope you guys like it.**


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